For most people, the love affair with peanut butter begins with a childhood favorite: the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Others fell in love with peanut butter on celery sticks or apple slices. Since those early introductions to peanut butter, you probably found other uses for the creamy, protein-rich treat. However you use it, peanut butter delivers great flavor and texture, but it has a lot more competition now. 

Other nut and seed butters offer more diverse nutritional profiles and often taste better than classic peanut butter. Additionally, many nut and seed butters tend to be less processed and less sugary, making them better for your body. Plus, about three million people in the U.S. are allergic to peanuts, but they can take advantage of other nut and seed butters. Cashew, almond, walnut, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, and pistachio butters exhibit more unique flavor profiles and textures. They also tend to have more heart-healthy fats, fiber, and protein than your average peanut butter. Finally, many of these nut and seed butters tend to be easier to digest than peanut butter. Continue reading to see which nut and seed butters you should consume to increase your protein intake. 

Walnut Butter

Walnuts are naturally rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which boost the health of your heart and brain. Omega-3s may also lower inflammatory markers in the body. Although walnut butter may have a lower protein content than peanut butter, it is a better choice because of the omega-3 content. Walnuts contain more heart-healthy antioxidants than other nuts, including almonds and peanuts. You can find walnut butter at your local health food store or order it online. 

Sunflower Seed Butter

Super smooth and undeniably delicious, sunflower seed butter is easily spreadable and pairs well with oatmeal and smoothies. This is a great alternative to nut butters if you have a nut allergy. Sunflower seed butter boasts an impressive nutritional profile, offering large amounts of magnesium, copper, fiber, protein, niacin, and vitamin E. Get creative and put it on top of a warm baked sweet potato for a complex carb, healthy fat, and protein combo!

Almond Butter

Almond butter is probably the most popular alternative to peanut butter. It has a naturally sweet flavor profile, thick texture, and high protein content. It does rank below peanut butter on the protein scale, but it contains more vitamin E, manganese, copper, biotin, calcium, iron, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats than peanut butter. Incorporate almond butter into smoothies, desserts, oatmeal, or slather it on celery sticks and apple slices. 

Cashew Butter

Cashew butter is very decadent, but it is slightly thicker than peanut butter. It exhibits a toasty flavor profile that pairs well with multigrain bread and dates in vegan desserts. You can even add cashew butter to curries to make them extra rich. Offering about six grams of protein per ounce, cashew butter ranks a little lower than other nut butters on the protein scale. It does, however, offer lots of phosphorus, copper, magnesium, zinc, and manganese. 

Tahini (Sesame Seed Butter)

Commonly known as tahini, sesame seed butter is a go-to ingredient in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. It has a delicate nutty flavor that goes great in sauces, marinades, dressings, and even desserts. Tahini is naturally rich in protein, but it also contains iron, manganese, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and zinc. It also contains vitamins B1, B3, and B6, in addition to selenium and monounsaturated fats that help to reduce inflammation. 

Pumpkin Seed Butter

You wouldn’t think about pumpkin seed butter being a thing because people typically eat pumpkin seeds whole. If you want to try something new, pumpkin seed butter shares a similar profile to sunflower seed butter, but it’s very rich in zinc. This nutrient is necessary to optimize immune function, so a spoonful of pumpkin seed butter may help you meet your RDI. It can have a slightly bitter flavor profile, but you can incorporate raw agave nectar or maple syrup to sweeten it up. 

Pistachio Butter

Rich in vitamins like B6, pistachio butter is a luxurious spread that you’re bound to love. Vitamin B6 is an integral nutrient for optimal brain and heart health, but it also enhances immune function. Pistachio butter contains more potassium than other nut and seed butters, in addition to protein and amino acids like L-arginine, which is necessary for blood circulation. Pistachio butter is great in savory applications like pesto.

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When you set out on the open road, the traditional go-to snacks come from gas stations or convenience stores. You can easily pick them up along the way and they provide quick and easy snackability (that’s our new word). It’s the American way to shove your face with all sorts of chips, candies, and all sorts of other junk food. 

Somewhere along the way, Americans got the impression that snacking was synonymous with junk food. A snack is a miniature meal, but it can often turn into a full on pig-out session, polishing off an entire bag of chips in minutes. People don’t consider snacks to be miniature meals, though, and therein lies the problem. A snack should be a quick bite that offers nourishment, yet most people fail to make calculated decisions when it comes to snacking.

After a long road trip, it’s not uncommon to find crumbs, chips, or sticky sweets in those hard-to-reach places of the car, especially if children were in there. The reason people choose those snacking options is because they are quick and easy. Ideally, everyone would spend days prepping healthy snacks for the road trip, but hectic schedules can make this difficult. It doesn’t have to be difficult, especially when the snacks are easy to make. 

What Should Healthy Snacks Contain?

The holy trinity of snacking nutrients include complex carbohydrates, fiber, and protein. Together, these nutrients help to provide the body with energy and sustenance, which keeps you feeling full. It’s that sustenance that keeps you from going back for more. Chips, for example, offer little to no nutrients, so you can eat the entire bag and still feel hungry. Then you end up with a tummy ache somewhere along your drive. There’s no need to ruin drive time by plaguing your digestive system.  

Next time you hit the road, prepare the following snacks. You can thank us later.

Quick And Easy Date Bars

The great thing about these raw vegan date bars is that they only contain three simple ingredients! They are filling and damn delicious!

Click here to make the recipe. 

Apple, Blueberry, & Cashew Butter Sandwiches

Healthy raw vegan snack alert! These apple, blueberry, and cashew butter sandwiches fill you up with healthy fats, fiber, and protein.

Click here to make the recipe.

Baked Plantain Chips

These homemade plantain chips are perfectly crunchy and incredibly addictive. Fair warning…you may need to make a bigger batch because they are that good!

Click here to make the recipe.

Everything Bagel Dehydrated Flax Crackers

Are you gluten-free or on a raw vegan diet? Satisfy your Everything Bagel craving by snacking on these dehydrated flax crackers. Make sure to make them a couple days before your road trip.

Click here to make the recipe.

Apple Pie Energy Balls

You can have your snack and enjoy it guilt-free now that you have these apple pie energy balls. It’s like dessert in healthy snack form!

Click here to make the recipe.

4-Ingredient Chewy Peanut Butter Balls

Chewy, sweet, filling, and 100% plant-based, these peanut butter balls are the perfect snack to provide sustenance during your road trip.

Click here to make the recipe.

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It’s time to reimagine the sandwich for the sake of the raw vegan diet. We have a classic definition of what a sandwich is, but a sandwich can come in many forms. For this recipe, we are using apple slices as the bread. The spread is the cashew butter and the “meat” is the blueberries. Sure, it’s not traditional, but it’s an incredibly nutritious snack that offers protein and energy during your cleanse.

The thing to keep in mind about these raw vegan apple cashew butter sandwiches is that you don’t want to go crazy with the cashew butter. You should only spread a small amount of cashew butter between the apple slices. The more cashew butter you use, the more calories and fats you consume. You’ll be surprised how easily you can fill up with just one of these sandwiches. Lastly, don’t make your apple rings too thick because that will make eating this sandwich extremely difficult. Aim for each apple slice to be about 1/4-inch thick.

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This isn’t your average veggie spring roll and it isn’t paired with you average dip either. The dip packs a lot of flavor, so make sure to smother each spring roll in it when you dive in. The most tedious part of the recipe is cutting the vegetables into thin strips. You can have fun with it and spiralize some of them, but that is up to you.

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Peanut butter, as we know it today, was invented by Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis, Missouri. He made it for elderly patients who could not chew so well but still needed hi-protein food that didn’t involve meat. Dr. Straub went on to patent a peanut grinding mill in 1903 and one year later peanut butter was introduced to the public in the United States at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

Today, peanut butter must be at least 90% peanuts to use the term “peanut butter.” More than 50% of the peanut crop in the United States is used for peanut butter production.

Health Benefits

Peanuts are rich in energy and contain many nutrients, antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins that are very beneficial for your health. They contain mono-unsaturated fatty acids that help to lower “bad cholesterol” and increase “good cholesterol”. A diet that is rich in monounsaturated fats helps prevent coronary artery disease and stokes.

Peanuts are also a great source of protein. They contain quality amino acids that aid in the growth and development of muscles. These nuts also consist of healthy minerals such as copper, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc.

High in vitamin E, peanuts contain about 8g per 100g of nuts. Vitamin E helps strengthen the cell membrane of the mucus membranes and skin by protecting our bodies from harmful oxygen free radicals. Peanuts also contain B-vitamins that promote brain health and blood flow to the brain.

Resveratrol is an antioxidant that is found in peanuts and helps protect the body against cancers, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and viral infections.

A handful of peanuts provides the recommended amount of phenolic anti-oxidants, protein, minerals, and vitamins.

Health Risks of Peanuts

The peanut, of all nuts, is very hard on the digestive system.

Peanuts, if not masticated well, can lodge in the intestines and contribute to diverticulitis and diverticulosis. So if you eat peanuts or will continue to eat them, make sure to chew them well.

Roasted peanuts contain excessive amounts of salt and can cause headaches as a result.

One of the worst oils to consume or use for cooking is peanut oil. However, peanut oil is far better or salubrious than cottonseed, canola, and soybean oil.

Health Risks of Peanut Butter

Aflotoxin – a known cardinogen – is found in virtually all peanut butter brands on the market.

“A study was performed by Consumers Union showed that the major brands such as Jif, Peter Pan, and Skippy had less of the aflotoxin than store brands. The biggest offender turned out to be the freshly ground peanut butter in health food stores, which had ten times the levels of the major brands. The U.S. government allows no more than 20 parts per billion (ppb) of aflotoxin, which members of the health field feel is too high. According to Consumers Union, eating levels that contain an average of 2 ppb of aflotoxin every 10 days will result in a cancer risk of 7 in a million. This is a higher risk that exists from most pesticides in foods.” – Dr. Myles H. Bader

Peanut butter also contains hydrogenated oil. The process of hydrogenation keeps the oil in suspension. Hydrogenation made peanut butter one of America’s most popular foods. However, hydrogenation plays a role in the development of major diseases that impair overall health and wellbeing.

Peanut sauce is a favorite product in Asian culture. Thai restaurants use peanut sauce to top some of their dishes and also use it as a salad dressing. Peanut sauces are very sweet due to the use of white table sugar. If you eat peanut sauce just a few times a year, there’s really no major cause for concern.

Healthier Alternatives

Today, we have a variety of exceptional peanut butter substitutes on the market that can be found at most good health food stores. Alternative and healthier butters include:

• hemp seed butter
• almond butter
• hazelnut butter
• pistachio butter
• walnut butter, and
• cashew butter

You can even make these alternative butters at home by simply soaking your choice of seeds or nuts overnight and then blending it in a mixer.

Hemp seed butter by far would have to be the best alternative butter on the market that you could consume. It is a great source of amino acids (for purposes of protein), contains all 3 beneficial essential fatty acids (Omega 3, Omega 6, and Omega 9), and contains moderate amounts of minerals and trace elements. It has a great taste as well.

Almond butter is also a great tasting butter, as well as cashew butter. These butters are great for sandwiches, for crackers, and vegetable sticks. Also, they are not hard on the digestive system like peanuts.

Beanut butter is not a better substitute for peanut butter. Beanut butter is really soybean butter. Soy, too, is hard on the digestive tract and that’s why it should only be eaten on rare occasions.

Dherbs Solutions

There are a few major alternative butter manufacturing companies listed in our Alternative Diet and Lifestyle Manual Alternative Diet and Lifestyle Manual (ebook)l (under “Alternative Food Brands”).

Thank you for reading!

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